on the Partridge Pigeons of Australia. 295


living state. The Geophabes are perfectly true Pigeons and,


except that they are purely terrestrial, are almost identical in


their habits with the other Bronzewings of Australia. Both


species are very rare in captivity.


On February 2nd 1892, Dr. Sclater exhibited (in spirit),


at a meeting of the Zoological Society, two nestlings of G. scripta


which had been hatched in the Zoological Gardens on the 7th


of June 1891, also an egg of the same species, and made the


following remarks (P.Z.S., 1892, pp. 76,77)': " I cannot at all


agree with Dr. Bowdler Sharpe in his recent proposal to divide


the very natural order ' Colunibse ' into two portions, and to


associate the Geophabes or Ground Pigeons with the Gallinaceous


birds.


" According to the observations we have made from time


to time in the Society's Gardens, where several species of the

Ground-Pigeons* have bred repeatedly, the young of the Ground-

Pigeons when hatched are nearly naked and quite helpless, and

differ in no respect from the young of the typical ' Columbse/

In proof of this I exhibit two specimens of the j'oung of the

Partridge Bronzewing Pigeon {Geophaps scripta), hatched in the

Gardens on June 7th last, and about fourteen days old when they

died. It will be observed that at this date they were barely

covered with feathers and hardly fledged. In fact one of them

was actually killed by falling from a slight elevation in the

aviary, having been hatched in the nest of a Barbary Turtle-dove

(Turhir risorius), to which the egg had been removed in conse-

quence of the bird that laid it refusing to sit upon it. It cannot

therefore be said that these birds are ' able to run soon after

birth.' Nor, in the reference given by Dr. Sharpe, does Mr.

Gilbert, so far as I can gather from his remarks, say so ; he

merely states that ' the young bird on emerging from the egg is

clothed with down like the young of the Quail.' "


N. B. — In the photograph, here reproduced, the bird in

the background is an Australian Quail (Coturnix pectoralis).



* Under the term "Ground Pigeon" Dr. Sclater includes Phaps, Ocyphafis, anckoiheF-

forms which are quite as arboreal as they are terrestrial.



